German finds trouble as Pinehurst bares its teeth, but has healthy lead over
Rickie Fowler and Erik Compton

Six shots became five for Martin Kaymer, but as far as the reduction of leads go in the US Open, this was anything but alarming for the German as he moves closer by the hole to his second major.

Kaymer is firmly in control on eight under after a third round of 72 on Saturday which was highlighted by what seemed out be a highly significant birdie on the last.

On three under stand Rickie Fowler and the remarkable Erik Compton, who both went round in 67. That the American pair were the only ones to break par out of the 68 players who teed it up in third round tells its own story rather emphatically.

This was the moving day where the overwhelming majority of the field slammed into reverse as the USGA exercised its sadistic right to set up a layout to cause spills rather than thrills.

The ground was firm, the tees were back, the pins were tucked and, who knows, the officials might well have been sniggering as rounds in the 80s easily outnumbered the rounds of the 60s.

After the highly unusual sight of a participant on 10-under after the second round, this was far more like a US Open. Rightly or wrongly.

Kaymer began with that half-dozen shot advantage, equalling the US Open’s halfway mark posted by Tiger Woods in 2000 at Pebble Beach and by Rory McIlroy at Congressional in 2013.

They went on to win by 15 and eight shots respectively, but Kaymer’s opening confirmed that his will be a more cluttered route to the 72nd hole.

The 29-year-old ended his 30-hole streak without a bogey on the second hole on Saturday and after taking an unplayable on fourth, courtesy of a pull off the tee into a bush, he showed his mettle to limit the damage to another bogey with a 15-footer.

Then came the par-five fifth, where he located trouble on the left again. His ball rolled under a small plant, but Kaymer was unperturbed and somehow thrashed through the foliage to draw a long iron around the trees and bring it to rest within five feet. The eagle took him back to 10 under.

The drama was not over. On the sixth he contrived to putt off the green on his way to another bogey.

Six pars steadied him as he made his way past the 12th on nine under, but by then Pinehurst had restated its propensity to enthral, if not terrify, and a three-putt bogey on the 13th seemed routine enough.

The birdie on the 18th, where Kaymer holed a 10-footer may prove to be vital. “What’s the difference between a five-shot lead and a four-shot lead?” he was asked. “One shot," Kaymer replied.

Except there is so much more difference, if only in terms of confidence and momentum.

At the very least it seems Compton and Fowler will need to repeat their heroics, belying the arduous nature of the task with three-under 67s.

With respect to Fowler, the colourful dresser who is not normally associated with conceding attention, it is Compton who is inspiring the bulk of the chatter.

What a character he is. But then, as a man on his third heart, having undergone two transplants, the last six years ago, perhaps it should have come as no shock that he would not allow the challenge of hauling back a record lead to overwhelm him.

The 34-year-old suffers from fatigue because of his condition and his hands are prone to shake because of his system’s overproduction of adrenalin.

Yet deep within there is an extraordinary fighter who, in his own words, “refuses to quit”.

Compton came through 38 holes of qualifying on a single day two weeks ago and is evidently determined to make the most of this opportunity.

When Woods once asked him how long this heart would last, Compton replied: “Long enough to beat you.”

That is the sort of attitude one requires for the US Open, although with a task this demanding, it was maybe forgivable for McIlroy to go out in 40 and so fall from one-under to four-over.

However, it did continue a worrying narrative in McIlroy. He arrived at North Carolina vowing to cut out the destructive nine-hole spells which has wrecked many a tournament of late, including the Masters and the Memorial two weeks ago, where Jack Nicklaus asked him how he could possibly follow up a 63 with a 78.

The answer was one of these horrid runs and despite birdies on the 10th and 13th he failed to resurrect his challenge with a 74 which left him stranded on three over.

Barring a torrid Kaymer calamity, the curse of the defending champion will run into a 26th year. England’s Justin Rose has not played badly here; indeed, his 70 was guts personified, as he overcame a double-bogey on the par-three ninth with three birdies in his second half, but he came in with high hopes and will be disappointed.

Rose was four over after his first nine holes on Thursday and it has been a fine battle simply to get back to one over.

On seven over, following a 75, is the Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell, while Rose’s countryman Paul Casey is on nine over after a 74.

In the build-up, the spotlight shone brightest on Phil Mickelson, as the left-hander set out to become the sixth player in history to achieve the career Grand Slam, but after a 72 he is on five over.

And so his US Open heartache looks destined to carry on, with a record six runner-up placings to his name. In truth, he has not been playing well enough this season. At least he is able to laugh about it.

“If I play well tomorrow, if I hit it better and make some putts, I think I can shoot four or five under par and end around even and finish second again,” Mickelson said.

Nothing is certain at the US Open, although there is one golfer who is assured of picking up a first prize this evening, regardless of the third-round 78 which left him outside the top 60 on 12 over.

As the only one of the 11 amateurs to make the cut, Matt Fitzpatrick, the 19-year-old Englishman, has ensured that his last day in the non-paid ranks will be a happy one.

Fitzpatrick will turn professional on Monday, and head straight to this week’s Irish Open having achieved his goal of adding the low-amateur honours of the US Open to those of the Open he picked up at Muirfield last year.

He feels ready now, having played in the company of Rose and Mickelson, who both expressed their admiration of the youngster from Sheffield.

Perhaps Rose’s endorsement will ring the loudest considering that he also turned professional as a teenager and infamously proceeded to miss his first 21 cuts.

“I’m pretty certain that Matt will not go through the same struggles as me,” Rose said. “He’s a good player with a mature mindset. I look forward to playing with him again soon.”